Modifications to zoning regs being considered

By Bob Bumcrot

Plans for a housing development cluster on property along Old Colony Road, first presented by Mark Burke to the Norfolk Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) in February of 2007, continue to advance. P&Z is considering modifications to current zoning regulations that, while not aimed solely at this project, would permit it to go forward. Burke has formed a cooperative venture with partners Dennis Fisher and Alan Groningstater and the Foundation for Norfolk Living, chaired by Lou Barbagallo, whose aim is the promotion of affordable housing in town.

The 44-acre property, owned by Burke, lies between Old Colony Road and Haystack Mountain State Park. It abuts the Town Garage property on one side, an unused parcel taken by the town for nonpayment of taxes on another, and one private residence. Once basic landscaping and crushing of discarded rock and cement chunks are completed, houses could be erected along an unpaved road that was built through the property by previous owners. The road passes through a number of attractive sections not visible from the road.

Current plans, prepared by landscape architects and planners Fererro Hixon Associates of Farmington, call for 22 separate houses on small lots in two clusters, leaving over 80 percent of the land as open space. The houses will be connected to both the town water and town sewer systems. The road will be maintained by a housing authority to be formed of the owners of the new homes. A common storage barn will also be constructed. Six houses are to be offered to families with income between 80 and 120 percent of the Norfolk median income, that is, between $52,000 and $78,000 per year. The other 16 houses will be offered at market rates. While the six affordable houses would look like the others and would be mixed among them, there would be some differences inside in order to hold down the cost.

“We are going to need something like this mix of affordable and market-rate houses to make it work financially,” said Burke, “but we are not wedded to these particular plans. Now is the time for anyone with serious objections or suggestions to come forward. They can talk to me, to Lou or to P&Z,” he said.